24 September 2011

I'm back to a point where I feel I can post regularly on this site. I was in Iraq from July 2009 to July 2010. You can read about my experiences there at:

http://worldbeyond.typepad.com/beyond_baghdad/

Then moved from the DC area to Tehachapi, CA. I've enjoyed my past year here, have been busy with work and until lately, just hadn't felt much like reading and posting. But I feel like I'm back in the groove a bit. I've read a couple good books of late, "Travels in Siberia" by Ian Frazier and "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis.

I've also been traveling pretty heavy. Albuquerque, NM; Fort Worth, TX; Dayton OH; Atlanta, GA; Huntsville, AL. I've been fortunate to do some exploring of Central and Southern California as well. There are many scenic roads and places to enjoy here.

In reality, in addition to all the above excuses, the ease of posting a thought or two to Facebook, has sapped some of the motivation to keep blogging. But I hope to give it ago.

19 July 2009

A friend sent me this recently. I'd never read it before but I thought it was beautiful:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.- Max Ehrmann

14 December 2008

14 November 2008

I just finished a wonderful book, “The Ink Dark Moon – Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan” translated by Jane Hirshfield. The poetry is excellent and the translation work is outstanding. There is also a great deal of background information describing what life was like for Japan's aristocracy during this era. Find this book and read it! I guarantee you'll learn something you didn't know about world culture and you'll be impressed with the beauty of these poems written over 1000 years ago. The following description is taken from the introduction:

“One thousand years ago, Heian-kyo (modern day Kyoto), the capital city during Japan’s Heian era, 794 AD – 1185 AD) was more populous than any European city, one of the very few centers of high civilization anywhere in the world.Male members of the aristocracy vied for political favor and positions of power; daughters of aristocratic families were sent at about age fourteen to serve as companions to members of the imperial household.Because it was solely by a daughter’s marriage that a family’s status might be permanently advanced, the women serving in the imperial retinue were highly cultured and carefully educated, and they were considered aesthetic equals by the men. Once ensconced in their separate living quarters, the women had a few official duties, but for the most part they were left to their own devices.They read and exchanged copies of anthologies, prepared themselves with the help of their maids for the excitement of outings, played musical instruments or wrote for their own and each other’s entertainment, and generally kept one another and the empress they served amused.But the greatest part of their attention, it seems, was devoted to affairs of the heart: love affairs were an accepted part of courtship for unmarried women, and polygamy was the usual arrangement for men.Thus erotic love and its consequences were perennial conversational and literary topics.

For a high ranking member of the Heian court, relations with the opposite sex presented a larger range of possible outcomes and a greater flexibility than in most cultures.Although a primary marriage at an early age was often arranged by the family, a man could take as many secondary wives of official mistresses as he wished, and as many secret lovers as would accommodate him.A man might install a number of secondary wives in his home—most Heian dwellings contained several wings or compounds—or he could have several wives living in different locations.An unmarried woman might also have multiple lovers, if perhaps with greater discretion; a wife, by contrast, was confined to a single husband and was expected to remain faithful after marriage, although, as can be seen in the life of Izumi Shikibu, this was not always the case.Despite this mild double standard, Heian women were accorded a great deal of independence in romantic matters: able to own property and receive income in her own name, a woman could refuse a suitor’s advances, or, should a marriage or her position as an official “second wife” no longer suit her, end a relationship entirely through divorce or by moving away.Furthermore, since nearly all encounters between members of the opposite sexes took place within a convention of secrecy, the opinions of family or friends about one’s choices in the realm of eros might be avoided for quite a long time.

The first intimation of a new romance for a woman of the court was the arrival at her door of a messenger bearing a five-line poem in an unfamiliar hand.If the woman found the poem sufficiently intriguing, the paper it was written on suitable for its contents and mood, and the calligraphy acceptably graceful, her encouraging reply—itself in the form of a poem—would set in motion a clandestine, late-night visit from her suitor.The first night together was, according to established etiquette, sleepless; lovemaking and talk were expected to continue without pause until the man, protesting the night’s brevity, departed in the first light of the predawn.Even then he was not free to turn his thoughts to the day’s official duties: a morning-after poem had to be written and sent off by means of an ever-present messenger page, who would return with the woman’s reply.Only after this exchange had been completed could the night’s success be fully judged by whether the poems were equally ardent and accomplished, referring in image and nuance to the themes of the night just passed.Subsequent visits were made on the same clandestine basis and under the same circumstances, until the relationship was either made official by a private ceremony of marriage, or ended.

Once she had given her heart, a woman was left to await her lover’s letters and appearances at her door at nightfall.Should he fail to arrive, there might be many explanations—the darkness of the night, inclement weather, inauspicious omens preventing travel, or other interests.Many sleepless nights were spent in hope and speculation, and, as evidenced by the poems in this book, in poetic activity.Throughout the course of a relationship, the exchange of poems served to reassure, remind, rekindle or cool interest, and, in general, to keep the other person aware of a lover’s state of mind.At the same time, poetry was a means of expressing solely for oneself the uncertainties, hopes, and doubts which inevitably accompanied such a system of courtship, as well as a way of exploring other personal concerns.”

“No significant experience was considered complete without its accompanying poem, and conversely, the desire to give an experience formal expression in poetry was itself the mark of the presence of deep emotion for an educated person.”

As one Heian era author explained: “It is poetry which effortlessly moves the heavens and the earth, awakens the world of invisible spirits to deep feeling, softens the relationship between men and women, and consoles the hearts of fierce warriors.”

The primary poetry form from this era (and still popular today) was the tanka, 31 syllables in a 5-7-5-7-7 scheme.Some people wonder why these poems don’t rhyme.According to Hirshfield: “the fact that all words in Japanese end with one of a relatively small number of vowels [my side-note: here’s a sampling of the Japanese alphabet: a i u e o, ka ki ku ke ko, na ni nu ne no, sa shi su se so…etc] precludes the use of rhyme as it is employed in other languages: only a large variety of possible end sounds allows their duplication to become a source of ingenuity and surprise, and, hence, aesthetic pleasure.”

I lived in Japan for several years and really loved their culture. If you surf around this blog you'll see I've experimented with Tanka, and it's shortened, perhaps more recognizeable to western eyes form: haiku. I don't want to mislead, not all Tanka were written to describe romantic feelings, however, that is the focus of this book.

Here are a couple sample poems from “The Ink Dark Moon” (in the original Japanese these follow the 5-7-5-7-7 format, Hirshfield - wisely I think - did not constrict herself to the syllable count while translating, and I feel she captured the tone and spirit of each poem beautifully):

29 September 2008

When I was growing up in the 1970s, the dream of American suburbia seemed to be a new single family home. Young families were expected to buy a small place, then upgrade, and continue to "flip" homes until they wound up in the home of their dreams. But this was before the era of McMansions. At what point is enough enough? If you already own a 4000 sq ft home, do you really need to upgrade to one with 6000 sq ft?

In these days of financial crisis, what is status of the American dream? As the newspaperman Richard O'Mara wrote in The Evolution of the American Dream recently published by the Christian Science Monitor things have changed over the past few decades. What started out as lofty ideals of hard work and freedom have been reduced to a big house and a fast car. (Have you seen the pictures of the new Camaroby the way...wow!!)

I recently had a discussion with my super-intelligent sister, who works in the real estate business, about the root of our current financial mess. We agreed that like most problems, there is no one single person or group solely accountable for the crisis, but greed on the part of many individuals is a common thread. From home buyers in search of something bigger and better, even if it might be unaffordable, to investors using fraudulent means to drive up neighborhood prices before selling out and moving on, to bankers lending to increasingly less qualified customers, to financiers packaging these dubious loans as securities, to investors making increasingly riskier moves to maximize profits, greed has led us to the brink of disaster.

Listen, I'm no communist. Capitalism works, better than any other system out there, but things can get a little overheated at times. I'm not an economist, not a banker, hopefully some of the experts will be able to mediate the effects of this current crisis, but as individuals, I believe we all need to curb our greedy tendencies.

Full disclosure. I don't own a home, and since a sixth grade math project calculating principle and interest payments over the life of a 30 year loan, I've never really been a big fan of homeownership. I do have three motorcycles though. I hear you asking, "why would anyone need three motorcycles, when you can only ride one at a time? " And even though in my mind I have a perfect explanation as to why they're all necessary, I think I'd have a hard time convincing you. I obviously have some room to cut back as well.

So maybe we could all cut back just a little. When it comes to homes, perhaps we can get by with 3000 sq ft instead of 6000, or 2000 instead of 3500. Just two motorcycles or maybe even (gulp!) only one. Hopefully this crisis won't lead to a depression where these cutbacks will be forced upon us by outside conditions, and in the coming months we'll be able to make our own decisions and curb our own appetites that in aggregate have led us to this current predicament.